Species management in aquatic habitats WRc RD Interim 1997 Item Type monograph Publisher Environment Agency Download date 05/10/2021 08:43:34 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/27211 NATIONAL LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICE ANGLIAN REGION Kingfisher House. Goldhay Way. Orton Goldhay. Peterborough PE2 5ZR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT RECORD Species Management in Aquatic Habitats WRc pic R&D Interim Report WI/i640/4 Further copies of this report are available from: Foundation for Water Research, Allen House, The Listons, Liston Rd, Marlow, Bucks SL71FD.Tel: 01628-891589, Fax: 01628-472711 Species Management in Aquatic Habitats C P Mainstone (Editor) Programme Coordinator: WRc pic Environment Agency Rio House Waterside Drive Aztec West Bristol BS12 4UD R&D Interim Report WI/i640/4 Publishing Organisation: Environment Agency Rio House Waterside Drive Aztec West Almondsbury Bristol BS12 4UD Tel: 01454 624400 Fax: 01454 624409 © Environment Agency 1997 All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the Environment Agency. The views expressed in this document are not necessarily those of the Environment Agency. Its officers, servant or agents accept no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage arising from the interpretation or use of the information, or reliance upon views contained herein. Dissemination status Internal: Released to Regions External: Released to Public Domain Research contractor This document was produced under R&D Project i640 by: WRc pic Henley Road Medmenham Marlow Buckinghamshire SL7 2HD Tel: 01491 571531 Fax: 01491 579094 WRc Report No.: EA 4289 Environment Agency’s Project Manager The Environment Agency’s Project Manager for R&D Project i640 was: Andrew Heaton - Midlands Region R&D Interim Report WI/i640/4 CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY KEY WORDS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. SUMMARY OF PROGRESS TO DATE 3. FUTURE WORK REFERENCES APPENDICES APPENDIX A MAMMALS APPENDIX B BIRDS APPENDIX C AMPHIBIA APPENDIX D FISH APPENDIX E INVERTEBRATES APPENDIX F PLANTS LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Species on the short list of the UK Biodiversity Steering Group report for which the Environment Agency has direct responsibilities Table 2.1 Summary of completed and on-going work within Project 640 to date. Table 3.1 Provisional work programme for 1997/98 R&D Interim Report WI/i640/4 i R&D Interim Report WI/i640/4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This document reports progress on R&D Project 640, which aims to provide information on species of conservation value of particular relevance to the Environment Agency, in relation to its activities affecting aquatic environments. A range of stand-alone outputs is being produced, comprising Species Action Plans, practical management guidelines for Agency staff and third parties, and various research outputs to improve the knowledge base on the status and ecological requirements of priority species. The outputs presented in this report are listed below, comprising all those that have been produced since the first interim report (R&D Interim 640/M/l). Species Output type Output status Water shrew Neomys fodiens SAP/MG Final Research report In draft Daubenton’s bat Myotis daubentonii SAP/MG In draft Research report In draft Kingfisher Alcedo auhis MG In draft Yellow wagtail Motacilla flava MG In draft Grey wagtail Motacilla cinerea MG In draft Sand martin Riparia riparia MG In draft Reed bunting Emberiza sc hoe niclus MG In draft Dipper Cinclus cinclus MG In draft Marsh warbler Acrocephalus palustris MG In draft Great crested newt Triturus cristatus MG In draft Spined loach Cobitis taenia MG In draft Research report In draft Brook lamprey Lampetra planeri SAP Final River lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis SAP Final Sea lamprey Petromyzon marinas SAP Final Shining rams-horn snail Segmentina nitida Survey report Final Little whirlpool rams-horn snail Anisus vorticulus Survey report Final Depressed river mussel Pseudanodonta complanata SAP In draft A freshwater pea mussel Pisidium tenuilineatum SAP In draft Native crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes Strategy report In draft Triangular club-rush Schoenoplectus triqueter SAP In draft MG Management guidelines SAP Species Action Plan R&D Interim Report WI/i640/4 1 As can be seen, nearly all of these are in a draft state and will be completed and standardised once technical comments have been addressed The process of species selection has been altered during the course of the project by the report on biodiversity by the UK Biodiversity Steering Group (1995). Whilst still including species that are not particularly endangered but are greatly influenced by the activities of the Agency, the project is now addressing species on the ‘short’ and ‘middle’ priority lists of the Biodiversity report, particularly those for which the Agency has specific responsibilities. Work items are currently being developed for 1997/98, the final year of the project. KEYWORDS Priority species, habitat management, aquatic habitats. R&D Interim Report WI/i640/4 2 1. INTRODUCTION Management for nature conservation within the Environment Agency and its predecessor bodies has historically focused on the general management of habitats and biological communities, based largely on the incorporation of ecological principles into flood defence activities and the setting and enforcement of discharge consents. It is recognised that, whilst such management has considerable conservation benefits, more detailed attention to the ecological requirements of certain species of high conservation value is required in order to maintain and enhance their numbers. This project was devised in order to establish the current level of knowledge in relation to priority species, to identify appropriate actions (including research to improve the knowledge base) and to lay down practical management guidelines where appropriate. The selection of priority species for such a programme is highly problematical, requiring a variety of factors (often subjective) to be taken into consideration. A case can be made for a huge number of species, depending upon the weighting given to different criteria and one’s own personal perspective. The species selected for consideration can be described in broad terms as: 1. those that are very rare and/or endangered; and 2. those that are declining but are reasonably common and are more likely to be encountered by the Agency in the course of its activities. Whilst species selection for the first year of the project was driven by the recommendations of Gulson (1994), the funding of species falling into Category 1 above has been subsequently guided by the report of the UK Biodiversity Steering Group (1995). The UK BSG report provides three priority lists of species: • the ‘short’ list - comprising the highest priority species (116); • the ‘middle’ list - the short list plus species of intermediate priority (400 in all); • the ‘long’ list - the middle list plus species of lower priority (1250 in all). The efforts of UK organisations are currently focusing on species on the short list, whilst work is required on the middle list in the very near future. The Agency has been assigned direct responsibilities towards certain species on the short list (as in Table 1.1), whilst other species on the list are the immediate responsibility of others but are aquatic in nature and of direct relevance to Agency activities. Organisations will be nominated in relation to the middle list in the near future, which will greatly influence the direction of the Agency’s R&D funding in this area. Outputs from the project are divided into three main categories. Species Action Plans These are produced for individual endangered species and aim to provide a statement of the actions required by different organisations (with respect to issues such as management, monitoring, research, legislation, site protection, advice and publicity) to secure their long-term protection. R&D Interim Report WI/i640/4 3 Management guidelines These are a distillation of current knowledge on appropriate management for individual species, aimed at Agency staff but also relevant to others working in conservation. Management guidelines produced under this project and related projects on individual species are being collated into an updateable manual. Research outputs These vary in nature but aim to clarify the distribution or ecological requirements of individual species so that the priority of the species can be confirmed and appropriate management guidelines/strategies can be developed and/or refined The work programme to produce these outputs consists of a programme of collaboration with English Nature and the Countryside Council for Wales, a number of sub-contracts to national experts, and commitments made by selected Agency staff (who liaise with relevant experts). All work is coordinated by WRc, with draft and final outputs being technically reviewed by WRc, the Project Board and additional personnel with specific knowledge of the species in question. The Project Board consists of representatives from the Environment Agency, English Nature and the Countryside Council for Wales. It should be noted that the work programme does not comprise all work being undertaken by the Agency in the sphere of species management A number of species-specific initiatives are running in parallel, including work on the otter (Lutra lutra), the shads (Alosa alosa and Alosa